1st Country in the world to be selected for the implementation of the Google Loon Project which will provide comprehensive Network Coverage to the entire island enabling high speed connectivity throughout

Eight telecom operators and five international submarine cables providing ample redundancy. Bay of Bengal Gateway to be completed by Dec 2015. SE ME WE 5 to be completed by Nov 2016.

Broadband, Leased-line and Satellite connectivity widely available.

Fast adoption of technologies – First South Asian country to establish a 4G LTE network.

Telecom Regulatory Commission provides special access facilities to IT and BPM companies for easy import of equipment and connectivity.

Public WiFi to be made available in 1000 locations

Telecom costs –

Fibre – SLT/Dialog – Upto 100 Mbps – Upto $450/month

ADSL – SLT – Upto 16 Mbps – Upto $200/month

LTE – Dialog, Mobitel, SLT, LankaBell – Upto $250/month

WiFi – Dialog, Mobitel, SLT, LankaCom, LankBell – Customized Packages

3G – Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat, Airtel, Hutch – Customized Packages

Moving within the city is much easier thani Cairo, Dhaka, Manila or Mumbai ATKEARNEY

Colombo has a well established road network including an express way from the International Airport to the heart of Colombo.

Modern international airport with more than 20 international airlines with direct flights to many worldwide destinations including 140 flights per week to most cities in India less than 2 hours away from Sri Lanka. Terminal 2 is being built

Reliable and quality supply of power with electrification coverage of 93% – Only South Asian country providing uninterrupted power supply 24 hours a day according to the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.

Regulatory Framework

Investment

Sri Lanka has an independent judiciary and follows the British Commercial Law principles and practices in its legal system, giving peace of mind to investors and outsourcer’s, as well as facilitating the setup of contracts.

Sri Lanka’s business environment allows 100 percent Foreign Ownership

No restrictions on repatriation of earnings, fees and capital

Safety of foreign investment is guaranteed by the constitution.

Treaties and conventions

Sri Lanka happens to be only South Asian country who has acceded the Budapest Convention on Cybercrimes

Sri Lanka recently became the first South Asian country to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts

Legislation

Sri Lanka also enacted an Electronics Transactions Act, Computer Crimes Act and is a signatory to the latest UN e-contracting convention.

Information Security

Sri Lanka is a signatory to international treaties on intellectual property rights such as the Berne Convention and WTO/TRIPS and adopted a comprehensive IP regime.

The country has created a national intellectual property rights office that focuses on awareness, policy issues, legislation and enforcement.

A Data Protection Code of Practice is also under preparation.

“Sri Lanka as having the amongst the most rigorous intellectual property protection regime in the region” ATKearney

Business Environment

Sri Lanka instituted economic reforms in the 1970’s (was the first country in South Asia to liberalize its economy) and has followed a pro-business and pro-investment policy ever since.

Ranked No.1 in South Asia under the World Bank Doing Business Index. According to the World Bank Sri Lanka is the only economy in South Asia that simplified business registration

Entry in to Sri Lanka : An Electronic Travel Authorization System has been introduced with the intention of providing an efficient, reliable and simplified service to those who visit Sri Lanka.

Tax holidays

4 -12 year tax holidays for new undertakings

Concessionary corporate tax rate of 12% exporters

Government Support

Top-Down Commitment

The Sri Lankan government is one of the biggest catalysts for driving its IT-BPM industry growth and has publicly shown its commitment by setting the target for IT and BPO being one of the country’s largest export revenue earner by 2022.

The government declared 2009 the year of English and Information Technology, with the goal of improving the knowledge of English and IT in young adults and school children to ensure they have the necessary skills to meet future outsourcing industry demands.

Government facilitated Business Promotion

The Government facilitates business missions to many regions including Australia, Japan, Africa and Scandinavia.

Private Sector IT and BPM companies received the opportunity to exhibit at the Gartner Symposium and Exhibition Gold Coast, CeBIT Sydney Australia, GITEX Dubai, AITEC Africa, Japan IT Week and NOA Awards UK

Government also facilitated Networking events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

Government Incentives

The government through the ICT Agency provides substantial grants for companies in the IT-BPM space to support business development such as training, consulting expertise, marketing, quality enhancements. More than 6500 individuals have been trained under ICBP training Grants. Support was also provided for 21 companies to get ISO 9001, 7 companies to get ISO 27001, 12 companies to get CMMI, 1 company to get COPC and 3 companies to get Carbon Neutral Certifications. ‘SPIRALATION’, the tech startup acceleration initiative of ICTA have supported 32 startups to date. Startups have also started exhibiting their solutions at Globally recognized events such as 4YFN at MWC and InnoFest unBound in Singapore with the support of ICTA.

Financial Attractiveness

Sri Lanka is a highly cost competitive destination and was ranked as 4th most financially attractive country in the in terms of financial attractiveness by ATKearney’s Global Service Location Index in 2014

The average associate cost can be as much as 10-20% lower than other offshore destinations, especially for BPM roles.